NYC Public Schools Ban AI Until High School, Capping Screen Time for 600,000 Students

New York City’s Department of Education is implementing a sweeping policy that bars public school students from using AI tools until they reach high school. The mandate affects roughly 600,000 students, representing about two-thirds of the nation’s largest public school system. The policy eliminates individual screen usage entirely for students before 3rd grade and recommends capping middle school screen time at 45 minutes per day. Teachers are strictly prohibited from using AI software to grade assignments, while emotionally supportive companion chatbots face a blanket ban across all grade levels. Despite city leaders framing this as one of the strictest classroom technology policies in the US, some parent groups expressed disappointment that a full 2-year moratorium wasn't adopted.